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SteemSports Editor:
The Eagles have yet again slumped to another defeat, making it their fifth consecutive game and that without scoring a single goal. The appointment of manager, Roy Hodgson which many thought would have an impact on the performance and game play of the players, failed to yield any results as they continued spiralling downward losing 1-0 to Southampton.
Crystal Palace have not seen a change of fortune following the sack of former manager, Frank De Boer who managed the side for just four games and 77 days. Yet to find the back of the net after four games, they were hoping to give their fans something to celebrate when they played host to Mauricio Pellegrino’s Southampton who were without an away goal before coming to South London.
The Eagles fell behind just inside ten minutes when Southampton skipper, Steven Davis finished off a rebound from Wayne Hennessey after some nice play from Dusan Tadic.
All afternoon, the Saints were causing all sorts of problems for the hosts on the right wing via Cedric Soares and Dusan Tadic. Left-back, Jeffrey Schlupp had no answer for the duo and Palace would have been worse off had the visitors’ crossing been any better.
It was a sad first day for the new Eagles manager as he watched his players, Christian Benteke and Jason Puncheon fail to convert chances from close range in either half. The Eagles have now gone 450 minutes without finding the back of the net after five games.
"We didn’t deserve a fairytale ending,” the 70-year-old former England manager was quick to add.
“We didn’t play well enough. After the goal, you could see the nerves and the anxiety. The only comfort I could take is that we got better as the game went on. The players care and they hurt and you couldn’t say they weren’t trying."
“We have to get better and sometimes it’s easier to get better physically and technically than it is mentally. We need mentally strong players because the criticism will add up.”Hodgson also added: “The change of management has not brought the magic-wand effect but I still believe in the long run these players will pick themselves up off the floor, where they’ve been knocked to now. We’ve got players with big experience and personality to come back into the team."
“I believe the work can be done on the training field if you have the right characters and we have those characters. We’ll keep chipping away at that and we have to hope the fans, who will be bitterly disappointed, stay with us.”
The manager will hope to help the side, which sits currently at the bottom of the league table, see a turnaround in their fortunes and move above the relegation zone.
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